Valentina Kristensen

Corporate Affairs Director,
OakNorth Bank

Tell us about your career journey so far – was there a defining moment or decision that set you on this path?

In September 2008, I moved to the UK to study business management. This was the peak of the global financial crisis, so a very interesting time to be studying this subject! A number of things happened during my time studying – consumer trust in traditional financial services hit an all-time low, regulators and government sought to reduce the barriers to entry for new entrants to encourage more competition in financial services, and smartphones started to make their way into the hands of most consumers – making managing your finances on-the-go much more commonplace.

So, when I graduated, I was keen to pursue a career in communications – specifically within corporate comms for financial services. My logic was that established financial services companies would need comms support to rebuild trust and build their reputations, and new players coming into the market would need comms support to build a strong narrative that would enable them to effectively compete.

I attended a ‘drinks and links’ event hosted by the CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations), where I met a woman who worked for an agency called Lansons. She told me about a grad programme they run and encouraged me to apply. I did and was fortunate to get the job. I had a great portfolio, with clients ranging from challenger brands up to FTSE 250 companies, but I found I gravitated towards the challenger brands more. I just found the work more interesting and challenging.

I went on to get several promotions, rising from Trainee Exec to the position of Account Director in three years. I was also very fortunate to win an industry award – The CIPR’s Award for Outstanding Young Communicator – which meant I started getting a lot of calls from recruiters. Lansons was an amazing place to start my career, and I made some of my closest friends during my time there, but I felt ready for a new challenge, so I accepted a role at a much smaller agency, joining them in June 2015.

The first client that was assigned to me was a new bank that was in the process of getting a banking license. It was founded by two entrepreneurs, Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, who’d been inspired to launch the business following the negative experience they had in trying to get a loan for their previous business. After they scaled that business to 3,000 people and sold it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014, they set out to build ‘the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs’. The vision, mission, and ethos of the company really resonated with me, as my mum is an entrepreneur, and I had seen for years how much she struggled with her bank.

In late 2015, shortly after its launch, I had the opportunity to do a secondment with OakNorth, and after a couple of months of doing that, I knew it was where I wanted to be fulltime. So, I arranged a meeting with Rishi and Joel and pitched why they should hire me full time. Fortunately, they were receptive to the idea(!), and the rest, as they say, is history! Today, my role spans much more than PR/external comms – I also cover internal comms, ESG/sustainability, public policy and government affairs, and CSR (notably – our 1+1% Commitment, whereby we donate 1 per cent of our profits and 1 per cent of our team’s time to supporting causes that are aligned with our mission to empower entrepreneurs). I sit on the Bank’s Executive Committee and have the opportunity to work directly with our co-founder and CEO, Rishi. So, the defining moment or decision that set me on this path was definitely asking Rishi and Joel to hire me. If I hadn’t done that, my career would look very different today.

Reflecting on your career to date, which success has meant the most to you, personally or professionally (or a combination of both)?

This September, OakNorth will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary. It’s been an incredible privilege to have been on that journey from a start-up bank with no license, no customers, no investors, and no profits, to where the business is today – a fully-fledged digital commercial bank that’s lent over $17bn to businesses across the UK and US, raised over $1bn from investors, and made over $270m profit in 2024.

Being part of a business that supports entrepreneurs – who go on to create jobs, build new homes, and have a positive impact on their communities and the economy as a whole – is what makes me excited to be part of OakNorth. As my mum is an entrepreneur, it means a huge amount to me that I’m working for an organisation that’s helping businesses like hers.

What unique strengths or opportunities do you think women bring to business?

I don’t personally feel that there are traits that are uniquely or inherently ‘male’ or ‘female’ which then correlate into strengths or opportunities in business. What matters a lot more than things like gender, race, and sexual orientation is cognitive diversity and the experiences someone’s had which can then shape how they approach problem-solving, team management, product development. Women are likely to have had different experiences than men, which can therefore mean they can bring a different perspective – which could, in turn, unlock new opportunities.

Women are likely to have had different experiences than men, which can therefore mean they can bring a different perspective – which could, in turn, unlock new opportunities

Who are the women who have influenced your thinking or supported your growth, and how have they impacted you?

My mum is by far the woman who has had the biggest impact on me and my career to date – as an entrepreneur and single mother of four, she taught me and my siblings a huge amount about work ethic, sacrifice, resilience, optimism, and pursuing opportunity. She instilled in us the need to do something you love and are incredibly passionate about, to always put in 100 per cent effort, and to grab every opportunity.

Could you share a setback or challenge that turned out to be unexpectedly valuable for your career or personal development?

One of the most challenging periods in my career to date was going on six months of maternity leave – I love what I do and am a bit of a workaholic as a result, so the idea of not working for several months to focus on being a mum felt a bit bittersweet to me. Parenthood requires a HUGE learning curve (at least, it did for me) – and for the first time, I didn’t feel confident or empowered about what I was doing. The first few weeks were especially hard: I was so exhausted, in physical pain (as my body worked to recover on about two hours of sleep a night), and at the same time, I was having this identity crisis as I wasn’t able to do the thing that usually made me feel so confident and empowered, and brought me so much joy (i.e. working).

However, as the days and weeks passed, my confidence as a mother grew, and Keeping In Touch days meant I could stay connected with work, and keep abreast of key developments. When I came back after mat leave, I had to be that much more productive and efficient as it was the only way I could ensure I could get home in time for bath and bed time. It meant I had to be much stricter with my time and I now feel more empowered to say ‘no’ to meetings I don’t absolutely have to be in, and ‘yes’ to the projects that genuinely excite and challenge me. It also means I sweat the small stuff a lot less – when you’ve spent 24 hours caring for a sick newborn who’s running a high fever and vomiting every hour, it changes your perspective!

So, what started as an incredibly challenging period for me personally, has proven to be immensely valuable for me professionally. I’m currently expecting my second in December, and am hoping the experience will be a bit less challenging the second time around, but with the same positive outcomes!

What have you learned about how to achieve balance between work and home, and do you have any measures or structures in place to achieve this?

I’ve mentioned already that my mum is an entrepreneur and a single mum of four, so there was never any balance in her life. Everything blended – work, life, home, etc – but it worked because she was so passionate about what she was doing, and she brought all of us along for the journey. So, for me, it’s really about finding something you’re incredibly passionate about and that genuinely brings you joy. If you can do that, you’ll be willing to put in the hours to be successful, and you’ll never have that sinking feeling on a Sunday evening. The time you spend with friends and family will be more satisfying because you feel more fulfilled, and you’ll hopefully never resent or regret the time spent doing one thing over another.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

That a successful career rarely happens in a straight line – it’s squiggly and there are ups and downs. Something that may have seemed like a wrong decision at the time can prove to be an amazing move a few months or years down the line. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Looking ahead, what does the next chapter hold for you?

OakNorth is at an incredibly exciting point on its journey – we’re expanding geographically. Having lent over $1bn in the US since we began lending there in August 2023, we’re expanding in terms of our offering, providing a broad range of business banking services (current accounts, savings accounts, FX, cards, payments, etc), and we’re expanding operationally, leveraging AI to unlock more productivity, efficiency, and opportunity. Given the breadth of my role, covering such a range of areas, I’m incredibly excited about continuing to be part of this next chapter and supporting even more incredible entrepreneurs and businesses on their growth journeys.